Cannabis has often had a bad reputation over the years, seen primarily as an illegal recreational drug with links to criminal activity. However, major shifts in legislation across Europe and North America have led to huge changes in attitudes toward the marijuana plant.
An increasing number of countries now allow medicinal uses of cannabis, opening up new and promising possibilities for managing diseases from chronic pain to multiple sclerosis.
But what do the actual patients making use of these new medical cannabis programs think? Is this just a case of stoners trying to get legal access to their drug of choice, or are cannabinoid medications genuinely helping people previously stuck dealing with debilitating health conditions?
A fascinating new study from Germany suggests the latter. Researchers surveyed over 200 patients taking part in the country’s medical cannabis program on every aspect of their experiences, from effectiveness in treating symptoms to side effects and quality of life improvements.
The results present a very positive picture of the impact prescription cannabinoids are having.
Soaring Popularity Of Medical Cannabis
Germany first legalized medical cannabis back in 2017. Since then, over 16,000 patients have received approval under the program.
The most common reason for a cannabinoid prescription was chronic pain, accounting for three-quarters of cases. Other indications included multiple sclerosis, depression, and loss of appetite/nausea in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
The drug is administered in various forms, from actual marijuana buds that can be vaporized to extracted oils taken in capsules or drops.
Pharmaceutical preparations with precise concentrations of key compounds THC and CBD are also available. Whatever the mode of delivery, it’s clear that both doctors and patients in Germany are increasingly turning to cannabis to help treat all kinds of medical problems.
This surging popularity echoes trends seen around the world. Australia, parts of the US, and Canada all have thriving medical cannabis markets. An estimated 3% of Europeans use it, including nearly 1% of the EU’s over-65 population. As cultural attitudes toward the plant shift, barriers to research and access are coming down.
The fact remains though that high-quality evidence on cannabinoids’ risk/benefit profile has been lacking. Vocal critics believe claims of wide-ranging medical benefits are overblown.
The German study is therefore extremely interesting, given that it goes straight to the source by asking patients themselves about their first-hand experiences using medical cannabis.
Cannabis Confessions – The Patients’ Perspective
The 216 participants completed detailed questionnaires on every aspect of their cannabinoid treatment journey. They self-assessed parameters like pain levels, anxiety, quality of life, side effects, and overall satisfaction with the therapy.
Crucially, they evaluated these twice – once for the present day, and once retrospectively for the period before starting cannabinoids. This pre-post comparison gives insights into how much patients believe the drugs have helped them.
Firstly, while 43% had previous personal experience consuming cannabis, overall attitudes were fairly neutral before beginning treatment.
Positive views significantly increased over the course of therapy though, indicating patients felt it was providing real symptomatic relief. Two-thirds reported their physician had first suggested trying medical cannabis, suggesting doctors view it as a viable therapeutic option rather than something patients are pleading to try as a last resort.
In terms of effectiveness, the results are very encouraging across multiple symptom domains:
Chronic Pain
- 72% of participants used cannabinoids primarily for pain relief
- Average pain intensity on a 0-10 scale decreased from 7.5 to 4.3
- Maximum daily pain dropped from 8.3 to 5.4
- Minimum daily pain decreased from 5.2 to 2.7
- Daily functioning improved on all metrics
This demonstrates major reductions in pain, helping normalize patients’ day-to-day lives. The fact minimum pain levels also declined shows that cannabinoids confer sustained analgesic benefits rather than just transient highs from THC.
Multiple Sclerosis
A small subgroup with MS reported similarly impressive improvements:
- Muscle spasticity severity fell from moderate to mild
- Mobility and walking ability increased markedly
- Spasms and stiffness decreased
Mood Disorders
- Patients with anxiety and depression had reduced symptoms
- They shifted from severe to moderate or mild severity
Appetite/Nausea Issues
- Significant decreases seen in distress from vomiting, nausea and weight loss
The breadth of therapeutic effects across these very different health conditions indicates cannabinoids can benefit patients struggling with all kinds of symptoms.
Cannabis Concerns. Side Effects And Access Problems
It wasn’t all positive though. 31% of participants encountered obstacles getting initial access to medical cannabis. Health insurance companies rejected applications for cost coverage in around a quarter of cases. And 19% reported side effects like dizziness, fatigue or dry mouth.
These barriers show that while useful, cannabinoid treatment still requires careful consideration and management like any pharmacological therapy.
Thankfully severe or dangerous adverse events appear rare. This highlights that research must continue refining which formulations, dosages and delivery methods optimize each compound’s risk/benefit ratio.
The study did have some limitations too. Its cross-sectional nature means patients had to recall their prior health status retrospectively.
This can introduce recall bias overestimating cannabinoids’ effects. The participant group also wasn’t fully representative of the national population.
Nevertheless, the large symptom improvements reported align with previous observational data that medical cannabis helps relieve certain treatment-resistant conditions.
CBD For Health. A Dawn Of New Possibilities
The verdict? Overall this real-world data presents a very hopeful picture about the utility of medical cannabis.
In an area historically lacking high-quality clinical evidence, listening to what the patients actually using these medications report is invaluable.
While not a magic bullet cure-all, cannabinoids seem to offer tangible relief for some of healthcare’s most challenging long-term illnesses.
The ceremonial stigma around cannabis also appears largely irrelevant – most participants held fairly neutral attitudes initially.
This suggests medical systems integrating thoughtful, evidence-based cannabinoid protocols can unlock substantial therapeutic benefits without necessarily sending the wrong “messages” about recreational drug use.
Despite obstacles, patient demand will likely continue growing as conditions poorly responsive to conventional therapies become increasingly common.
Chronic pain alone affects 20% of adults globally while numbers keep rising. Yet critical knowledge gaps around cannabis compounds’ complex pharmacology and optimal applications remain.
More research is sorely needed to clarify which patients stand to gain most from cannabinoids. If future studies affirm even a fraction of the dramatic improvements reported by German patients though, these fascinating natural substances could genuinely revolutionize how we treat many damaging and intractable diseases.
The dawn of a new era of cannabis-based medicine seems close at hand. Unless, of course, you live in the UK.
